The 13 richest footballers in the world

Neymar may be the most expensive player in world football, but he is not (yet) the richest.
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With the football season well underway, it's fair to say that money dominated the headlines in 2017.

7: Neymar, Paris Saint-Germain — net worth £49 million ($63 million).

Neymar.
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Neymar secured the biggest football transfer of all time when he left FC Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain this month.

The deal netted him a £26 million per year contract but the Brazilian also receives a salary from his sponsors Nike, Panasonic, Gilette, Claro, and Red Bull. He's a partner in business management company NN Consultoria and even has his own emojis available for download.

5: Eden Hazard, Chelsea FC — net worth £77 million ($100 million).

Eden Hazard.
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Forbes reports that Eden Hazard earns £12.4 million ($16 million) per year at Chelsea. The Belgian attacking midfielder is sponsored by Nike but also endorses trading card company Topps and Biscoff biscuit manufacturers Lotus Bakeries.

Zlatan Ibrahimović's one year contract at Manchester United expired in the summer. However, he still trains at the club's Carrington headquarters and is expected to re-sign with United when he returns from injury. Regardless, he has a lucrative Nike contract and even patented his own name in Sweden.

Goal.com says Lionel Messi earns half a million every week (£26 million a year / $33.4 million) from his lastest contract renewal with Barcelona. The Argentine forward also makes £21 million ($27 million) a year from sponsorship agreements with Adidas, Pepsi, Gillette, and Turkish Airlines.

Cristiano Ronaldo is paid £19 million ($24.4 million) a year, according to Goal.com. Though Ronaldo gets paid £5 million less than Messi, he has far more sponsors. According to Forbes, Ronaldo is "a human billboard for a global portfolio of sponsors" like Nike, Tag Heuer, and Armani. He also has his own CR7 brand which sells aftershave and clothes.